SPORTS-N-REC: Triathlon, wakeboarding set for today

Following the finals on Sunday was the crowd-favorite tandem event, where six teams paddle out on oversized longboards and ride two on a board. The beach was lined with cheering onlookers as spectacular displays of shoulder-rides and other acrobatics were attempted. Runners-up Buddy Evans and Kayla Durden put in a great performance, but Mitch Kaufmann and Julia Arnold slipped in a secret weapon by pulling Tristan Thompson off the beach to ride three on a board to take first place.

Top East Coast amateur and professional longboard surfers will take to Jacksonville Beach for The Longboard Classic Surf Contest at the Jacksonville Beach pier May 27 and 28. Surfers will compete for $2,500 in cash and prizes, including a trip to Costa Rica.

Holiday crowds are sure to enjoy this old-school style surfing event, sponsored by Sunrise Surf Shop, where surfers are scored on specific maneuvers and stunts performed on their boards. Look for local standouts Quintal, Dylan Andrews and defending Open Pro champ Charlie Broughton of St. Augustine to dazzle the crowds.

Entry forms are available online at www.floridasurfing.org or at Sunrise Surf Shop. The deadline for all entries is May 24. The entry fee for professionals is $50 and $25 for amateurs. All competitors will receive a contest T-shirt and a raffle ticket for the drawing of a free airline ticket to Costa Rica.

For more information, contact contest director Paul West at 626-9090 or paulwest1@comcast.net.

Hundreds flock to pier for annual surf contest

Hundreds of surfers joined the 23rd annual Subaru of Jacksonville WaveMasters Charity Surf Contest May 5-7 at the Jacksonville Beach pier. With valuable prizes at stake, the competition in the water was serious. But on land, the contest was a two-day family-oriented beach party.

"Not only are parents and siblings competing with and against each other, the entire North Florida surf community comes together as one big family," contest director Mitch Kaufmann said. "This annual event provides a great opportunity for the entire North Florida surf community to get together and raise money for a worthy cause." About $6,000 was raised to help Beaches surfing champion Lynn Singleton cope with bills as she battles breast cancer.

The weekend started on Friday evening when Mayor Fland Sharp and Jacksonville Beach showed the 1964 hit movie The Endless Summer to an outdoor audience of about 2,000 at the SeaWalk Pavilion. The film's star, Robert August, made a guest appearance at the showing. Now 60 years old and living in Costa Rica, August competed in the weekend event, defeating local legend and defending champion Clay Bennett in the Legends (50 and over) Longboard division.

Before the movie, August raffled off one of his signature model SurfTech surfboards, raising $700 for Singleton. On Saturday night, The Ritz Bar hosted its ninth annual Buddy Bash, which raised $5,000.

Sixteen-year-old Justin Quintal of Neptune Beach was the weekend standout in shortboard and longboard events. A nationally renowned champion longboarder, Quintal used a SurfTech shortboard to put on a dazzling display in the Junior Men's shortboard final, taking down defending champ and favorite Cody Thompson. In the Junior and Open Longboard finals, Quintal put on a show for the crowd on the beach.

Robert August, from the surfing film, Endless Summer, was a competitor. GARY WILCOX/The Times-Union

A surprise came in the Girls (17 and under) division, in which 12 year-old Kayla Durden defeated local favorite Kayla Beckman, 16, and other opponents several years older than her. Another surprise was 11-year-old Josh Motes, who bested defending champion Tristan Thompson in the Menehune final.

Jason Motes, Josh's dad, won the Masters Shortboard division. Jason, the Sunrise team captain, is the East Coast Champion in shortboard and longboard.

Up for grabs in the highly competitive Open Division was a trip to Costa Rica from First Coast Travel. The final came down to three of North Florida's hottest surfers: Motes, 33, Wayne "PJ" Satterwhite Jr., 20, and Eric Rheaume, 18. Halfway through the 20-minute final, Motes was in the lead with Satterwhite in second and Rheaume struggling to find his rhythm. With 10 minutes left, Rheaume came to life and picked off three of the weekend's highest scoring rides to win the trip and the first-place trophy.

Following the finals on Sunday was the crowd-favorite Tandem event, where six teams paddle out on oversized longboards and ride two on a board. The water's edge was lined with cheering onlookers as spectacular displays of shoulder-rides and other acrobatics were attempted. Runners-up Buddy Evans and Kayla Durden put in a great performance, but Kaufmann and Julia Arnold slipped in a secret weapon by pulling Tristan Thompson off the beach to ride three on a board to take first place.

Division winners were: Tristan Thompson (Micro-Minis), Josh Motes (Menehune), Evan Thompson (Boys), Justin Quintal (Junior Men, Junior Longboard, Open Longboard), Eric Rheaume (Open), Jason Motes (Masters), Alan Riik (Senior Men), Danny Mac (Grand Masters), Kayla Durden (Girls), Katie Sullivan (Junior Women), Marilyn Austin (Women), Jessie Carnes (Women Longboard), Jed Davis (Senior Longboard) and August (Legend Longboard).